Can anyone recommend a good book or books on multipitch methods and techniques? I just ordered Luebben's Anchors book, but I'd like to find something that goes beyond just anchors, and (ideally) provides a rather comprehensive overview of moving into multipitch climbs. I just moved to Southern California and would like to be able to start doing some of the multipitchers at J-Tree. Most of the climbing where I lived before could be tackled with a single 70m rope.

Note that this question assumes reasonable proficiency and experience in single pitch methods and techniques.

Thanks in advance for your replies!

(And yes, I realize it's great to be able to take a course or hire a guide to learn how to multipitch, but that's a bit out of budget right now, sadly :)

nothing at jtree is really multipitch- the stuff that is really isnt so big that you cant learn on the fly. you couldnt spend all day on a multipitch in jtree if you tried. the biggest route in the park is 3 pitches. maybe 4.

the vast majority of routes there are single pitch.

that said, climb a bit, find some locals and get more experience. multipitch climbing isnt rocket science- its basically repeating single pitch climbs and moving efficiently enough to get X number of pitches done in a reasonable time.

once you really have jtree dialed in terms of systems, poke around at Tahquitz/Suicide, or take the quick jaunt up to Red Rock for bigger stuff that qualifies as multipitch.

Thanks for the reply, that's great news. The quick jaunt I took up there to get oriented gave me the impression that (at the very least) a lot of the routes are greater than 35m, meaning that even if I could reach the top w/ my 70m rope, I couldn't single-rope rappel down. I suppose I could pick up a thin pull rope for longer rappels though, especially if it's the difference between that or multi-pitching. (Though to be honest I really want to learn how to multipitch, hence the original question)

Can you walk off the top of many of the routes at J-Tree? Or will I definitely need a pull rope if I want to climb anything greater than 35m w/o multipitching?

I'm still very interested to hear replies to my book question too. Learning from friends and locals is naturally one of the main ways I improve and learn new techniques, but if there's a good multipitch book out there I'd love to track it down.

Can you walk off the top of many of the routes at J-Tree? Or will I definitely need a pull rope if I want to climb anything greater than 35m w/o multipitching?

I've been to JTree only a little: an accumulated 30 days of climbing or so in the 5.7 to 5.9 range (I live in NM). Still, I don't recall ever doing a double-rope rap ... 60 meter rope was always enough even on the climbs of more than one pitch. Doesn't mean you couldn't get yourself into something longer.

At JTree, be watchful for low fifth class down climbs as part of a prospective route's "walk off".

Multi-pitch books: Beyond the typical anchor book like Long and Gaines', none come to mind. That and a good self-rescue book are probably enough in terms of book learning. Of course, I'm not saying that book-learning is enough.

Bill L

Edit: Heh, just remembered that we used two ropes to rap Rattlesnake Buttress to avoid a classic JTree "walk off". Still, if you make use of available beta (e.g., a good guide book) you could avoid the ones having more than half a rope for a rap.

Most climbs at Josh have walk offs. I think we used 2 ropes to rap off of Intersection rock, but mostly to avoid a walk off.

The books I'd look into would be the Heidi Pesterfield learing to trad lead book, it has a good section on multi pitch and it seems like there's a good book out there on how to go climb fast, I'm blanking on the name, but it's by a famous climber who's held the speed record for the nose a few times. I think there's some good tid bits in there about techniques for multi pitch climbing.

For the most part, multi-pitch climbing is just climbing. There's a bit to know about anchors and belay systems. Also it takes some time to learn what extra gear you need for anchors ect. and what you should leave behind to make things simpler, but if you can build a good anchor, keep things organized, and stay on route, you'll do just fine.

...and it seems like there's a good book out there on how to go climb fast, I'm blanking on the name, but it's by a famous climber who's held the speed record for the nose a few times. I think there's some good tid bits in there about techniques for multi pitch climbing.

Sounds like if I focus on my anchoring techniques and maybe a bit of self rescue, that'll be a fine foundation for starting to move into multipitch climbs.

yup. the only real extra factor for the most part is time when it comes to multipitch. theres also the consideration of fall factors above 1, but protect early and often and thats not an issue. so, all thats left is time. pick routes that you know you can finish, be conservative when you start, and you're good to go.

That's a good book for overall mountaineering but I don't think it's great for just rock climbing.

To the op, The Heidi Pesterfield book is called 'Traditional Lead Climbing: Surviving the Learning Years', and it's a pretty good beginners book for multipitch.

As vtg said, if you are solid at leading single pitch, you know most of what you need for multipitch. As long as you don't start above your head as far difficulty and length, then transfer what you know into 2, 3, or more pitches.

Just a few pieces of advice: 1. This was already said, but is so important, I'll repeat it. Protect early and often on each pitch. As you gain height, you can spread your pieces a little further apart. 2. Know how to get down BEFORE you start up. Walk-off? Rappel? 2 ropes? 3. Never trust your life to a single piece of gear. 4. Trad climbing involves 3 areas of proficiency: physical, mental, and technical. NEVER push more than one area at a time.

Good luck and be safe, especially on those Jtree "walkoffs", which are often the crux of the climb.

good advice Josh. I would add that a large part of multipitch climbing is rope/belay mangagement skills, so if you can find some climbs that have a comfortable stance at belay points it might be helpful.

Just a few pieces of advice: 1. This was already said, but is so important, I'll repeat it. Protect early and often on each pitch. As you gain height, you can spread your pieces a little further apart. 2. Know how to get down BEFORE you start up. Walk-off? Rappel? 2 ropes? 3. Never trust your life to a single piece of gear. 4. Trad climbing involves 3 areas of proficiency: physical, mental, and technical. NEVER push more than one area at a time.

Nice overview Josh. Yeah, being experienced with sport climbing but not with trad, I think I'll really need to focus on not pushing my technical skill level too hard and fast. The idea of wondering whether a piece of pro is bomber or not is totally foreign to me. In the past if I ever ran into a sport route with old bolts, I'd just skip it, since there was usually a route nearby with spanking new bolts. You just assume (with the usual caveats) that a bolt is safe. You clip and climb on without a second thought.

So it'll definitely be a mental shift to start learning to assess, on the fly, not only the location of protection, but also the reliability, etc...

I have it and love it. It's a great reference as well as a great lesson book for learning this stuff. I grab it every once in a while and flip through to see if I can pick up some little tip or trick that I haven't been using. It's full of good info and good pictures.

Another vote for Craig Luebben's anchor book. In my opinion, it's by far theist book on the subject. A lot of depth in that book, but it's always very clear and well written. RIP Craig. You're sorely missed in this community.

With multi pitch getting proficient at selecting and building you belay anchors is the biggest deal. When you get that down, that's most of the work. Your belay is your life link, and its the most important. After that, just start working on efficiency. Transition time at the belays is definitely the biggest time vacuum with big multi pitch routes. The more you can streamline you transition times, the smoother the whole climb will feel. If I rememer correctly, there's some good tip in Craig's book about that as well.